Working for the text

Fan labor and the New Organization

Bibliographic Data

ID12601955
AuthorsRyan M Milner (0000-0001-7864-0823, University of Kansas, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume12
Issue5
Pages491-508
Publication date2009-09-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Cultural Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1367-8779 • E-ISSN: 1460-356X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1367877909337861
OpenAlexW2106194668
LanguageEN
Citations received29
References cited22

This study used a discourse analysis of the official Fallout 3 forum to investigate how fans of the digital-game series perceived their labor contribution to the game development process. Framing this analysis, I proposed that the concept of the New Organization is a useful paradigm when considering the autonomous and collaborative nature of fan labor. As knowledge workers in the New Organization, fans contribute an immaterial labor (consisting of information and interpretation) to the texts they esteem. In my analysis, I observed that fans view uncompensated labor as a foregone conclusion, and that fans were more loyal to the text than the organization producing it. Both of these results have implications for how producers and researchers might approach fan labor. Given fan preference for autonomous and collaborative input, researchers and producers alike could benefit from understanding fan labor from a New Organizational perspective

Advertising · Business · Framing (construction · Interpretation (philosophy · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Computer Science · Digital Games and Media · Engineering · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Social Media and Politics · Artificial Intelligence

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